#211 Cackling Goose: Date - October 13. Location: Brydon Lagoon, Langley BC.
This was a life bird for me last year, the last bird seen in 2013. This year there were numerous reports of these geese in October, and I was fortunate to see a flock fly over on this day. It's hard to tell from the photo that these aren't the larger Canada Goose, but the honk was much higher pitched which is a very good indicator for Cackling.
#212 Tropical Kingbird: Date - October 19. Location: Brunswick Point, Delta BC.
This is the second time I have seen this rare (for here) species. The first was in 2012. As mentioned in the September blog, these large flycatchers seem to get their polarity mixed up occasionally and migrate north instead of south. The bird was around for about two weeks and every bird photographer in the Lower Mainland took a photo of it.
#213 Pacific Golden-Plover: Date - November 1. Location: 96 St. and Hornby Dr. Delta BC.
After a nice Saturday morning on the golf course I came home and read the bird alerts. This bird was reported to be in a farmer's field near Boundary Bay. I was pondering if I had the energy to go, but since it was a lifer I decided to give it a try. When I arrived, I met three birders taht I knew and they pointed out the bird. One of them even let me put my camera body on his lens to take a photo. These plovers prefer the fields to the shoreline, so taking a good photo was difficult. The first photo was taken with my camera, and the second with my IPhone through my spotting scope.
This was life list addition #392.
#214 Black Scoter: Date - November 11. Location: Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA.
One expects to see Surf and White-winged Scoters on the Lower Mainland in the winter. My only sighting of the Black Scoter was in 2012 at Point Pelee National Park in Ontario. However, you never know what will appear at Point Roberts on any day. I only saw the female of this species on the 11th, but added this photo of two males and one female later in the month.
#215 Long-tailed Duck: Date - November 11. Location: Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA.
I only caught this striking bird through my scope on this day. I managed a couple of poor shots in White Rock in December, one of which is shown below. I've also added a 2012 photo taken at Point Roberts to properly show the duck.
#216 Pelagic Cormorant: Date - November 11. Location: Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA.
I'm not 100% sure of the ID on this bird, but am confident enough to include it here. It does show the thin dark bill and longish neck of the Pelagic.
#217 Harris's Sparrow: Date - November 16. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC.
This is another rare bird that shows up here in the winter on occasion. Its normal range is the Northern Prairies in the summer and southern US in the winter.
I unsuccessfully chased this bird last year when it was seen at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver. This year there was a sighting at the sewage ponds at Iona. I was lucky to get the photo shown below as the bird was close only for a few seconds. This was lifer #393.
Subsequently, there was another Harris's Sparrow reported at Reifel Bird Sanctuary. I caught up with it on November 29th and shot this and other photos. This bird was much more cooperative and stayed in the open.
#218 Tundra Swan: Date - November 22. Location: 112 St, Delta BC.
There are many Trumpeter Swans that spend their winters in the farmlands of Delta. One of the local birders found a few Tundra Swans mixed in with a large flock of Trumpeters. With the assistance of my birding buddy Floyd, I was able to get some good looks at a Tundra Swan through my scope, but was not able to get any photos. The photo below is lifted from Wikipedia.
The Tundra Swan is a bit smaller than the Trumpeter and has a small yellow patch in front of the eye. I may have seen this species in the early 1990's but the photos were inconclusive and I never added it to the life list. So this was lifer #394, wish I'd managed a photo.
#219 Snow Bunting: Date - December 7. Location: Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC.
Snow Buntings are seen here in small numbers most winters. They come down from the north to spend some time in our milder climate. I saw them last December off of the Tsawwassen Ferry jetty, but they were gone when I returned in January for the 2014 listing. However, a few of them returned this winter and this bird was found at the end of Blackie's Spit. It was unconcerned about my presence which allowed me to take this shot from about 6 feet away. This bird tied my count from 2013.
#220 Gray Jay: Date - December 14. Location: Blackcomb Mountain, Whistler BC.
Amazingly, I did not see this bird on the Okanagan birding tour in April or at Manning Park in June. I was hopeful I would see one on this day trip to Whistler. Sure enough, they were out in force at the Seventh Heaven Chair lift. The line-ups were long, so I had opportunity to see it, then take a record photo with my pocket camera. We noticed that they were landing on people's hands and ski poles to beg for food. Mark lifted his pole up and a Jay landed. I got this shot to celebrate species #220.
#221 Golden Eagle: Date - December 27. Location: King's Links Golf Course, Delta BC.
I expected to see this magnificent bird in the Okanagan on one of my trips. In fact, we may have had one fly over the car on the Coquihalla Highway in April, but at 110 KMH it's tough to verify. However, the alert went out just before Christmas that an immature Golden Eagle was near Boundary Bay on the golf course. It had taken over a tall Poplar tree normally inhabited by a mature Bald Eagle. However, the Golden is larger and probably meaner, so here it is on that perch.
I also got a shot of it in flight. I would not like to get in the way of it.
#223 Bohemian Waxwing: Date - December 29. Location: Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC.
These birds appear on our coast most winters, usually in small numbers. However, this year there were reports of flocks of 50 birds seen in Pitt Meadows around Christmas. I made a trip out to Pitt Lake on Sunday the 29th and saw nothing other than some Robins, a Red-tailed Hawk and some Song Sparrows. The next day I decided to head for Reifel to get some photos of birds I had already seen such as Saw-whet and Great Horned Owls. I was successful in that venture and decided to hike in the long way around. As I turned at the West Field, I saw a large flock of small birds land on top of a tree. I assumed they were Robins or Blackbirds at first, but then realized they were Waxwings. I've been waiting a long time to see these birds, they were #395 on my life list.
The birds stayed for quite a while, and I was able to share the sight with a number of birders and visitors who came by.
The photo above shows the rufous colour under the tail while this second photo shows the yellow and white on the wings. These field marks differentiate this bird from the Cedar Waxwing, a common bird in the summer.
#223 Rusty Blackbird: Date - December 30. Location: Hornby Ave and 112 St, Delta BC.
This bird had been reported at this location since before Christmas, and I had made several trips to try to see it. The complication was that it was mixed in with a large flock of Brewer's and Red-winged Blackbirds and Starlings, probably about 150 birds in all. They were usually gathered in a large farmyard with birds on wires, on the barn and in the manure pile. Finally, on this day, in the company of three other birders I saw it. It rested on the post in the picture below long enough to get a good scope view. Unfortunately, I got one photo and then it took off. The photo is very poor, so you'll have to take my word for it for now. I may go back and try for a better one over the rest of the holidays.
This bird was another lifer - #396.
Also of interest in the photo is the Leucistic Eurasian Collared Dove. Leucism is a condition that affects birds' feathers and turns them pale or white.
#224 Pine Grosbeak: Date - December 31. Location: Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area, Burnaby BC.
The final report to be checked out on New Year's Eve was Pine Grosbeaks on Burnaby Mountain. They were there in 2012 but only females and juveniles. This year, there were mature males in their gorgeous red plumage, as well as females in their subtle gold.
This was one of the easiest rare bird alerts to follow up. The birds were feeding on Cherry trees within 20 meters of the parking lot. They were unconcerned about people, and nearly every bird photographer of note was present.
The first photo is a male, the second a female.
And That's it for the Year
Back in September or October I made up a list of 16 probable species that I could see to break my 2013 record of 219. I only saw four of the sixteen but still broke my record. This speaks to the improbable nature of birding. It also highlights the on-line resources available now that were not there a few years ago. Every day I would get email alerts of current sightings, allowing me to plan my outings wisely.In November and December I saw the Harris's Sparrow, Tundra Swan, Snow Bunting, Golden Eagle, Rusty Blackbird, and Pine Grosbeaks thanks to those alerts.
This ends the 2014 Birding Blog. The record of 224 species beats 2013 by five. It will be a challenge to match or beat that count in 2015.
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